This invention relates to firearms generally, shotguns more specifically, and is particularly related to a box type magazine which may be incorporated into existing shotguns, manual or automatic, having conventional means of positioning shells into the firing chamber from a magazine tube.
Repeating shotguns of the type commonly in use are typified by a magazine tube which runs generally parallel underneath the barrel of the shotgun. By means of spring biasing, the shells are advanced through the magazine into position underneath the firing chamber. On a manual, or pump type, shotgun, a slide advanced rearwardly actuates a mechanism to cause the fired shell to be ejected from the firing chamber, and the next shell, which has been placed in position in the magazine tube underneath the firing chamber by spring biasing, is lifted and positioned into the firing chamber by a mechanism which is actuated as the slide is advanced forwardly. Automatic shotguns function in the same manner, with gas pressure released from the firing of the shell being used to actuate the mechanism to eject the spent shell and to actuate the mechanism to place the next shell from the magazine into firing position.
Substantially all shotguns in the prior art incorporate a tube type magazine and work on the principle set forth above. The present invention is a box type magazine which may be used in conjunction with the mechanism used in existing repeating shotguns which incorporate a tube type magazine, and may be adapted to existing shotguns as will be seen herein.
The advantage of a box type magazine is that the shells may be preloaded into a box type magazine, with magazines changed quickly and easily during the use of the gun. With tube type magazines, it is necessary to load shells one at a time through a loading gate. To unload unspent shells, it is necessary to work the shells individually through the action of the gun. In the present invention, the empty magazine may be quickly removed from the gun, and a new magazine having shells therein quickly put in its place. Reload time for a magazine type shotgun is therefore drastically reduced over that for a tube magazine shotgun. Further, more shells may be held in box type magazine than in a tube type magazine. Greater safety is attained by unloading all unspent shells in the magazine at one time.